Case Western Reserve University senior Abigail Wilkov was named the recipient of the Elite 90 Award for the 2025 NCAA Division III Women's Swimming and Diving Championship. Wilkov collected her award prior to the third night of competition on Friday in Greensboro, North Carolina.
The Elite 90, an award founded by the NCAA, recognizes the true essence of the student-athlete by honoring the individual who has reached the pinnacle of competition at the national championship level in their sport, while also achieving the highest academic standard among their peers. The Elite 90 is presented to the student-athlete with the highest cumulative grade-point average participating at the site of the finals for each of the NCAA championships.
Eligible student-athletes are sophomores or above academically who have participated in a sport for at least two years with their school. All ties are broken by the number of credits completed.
Wilkov, majoring in neuroscience, has a 4.0 cumulative grade point average. Nine CWRU student-athletes have won the award since it was first given out in 2009-10. Of the 12 all-time honors for Spartans, seven have been in the last three academic years. Wilkov is the first-ever member of the Case Western Reserve women's swimming and diving team to receive the Elite 90 Award and just the second-ever member of the Spartan swimming teams (Drew Hamilton, 2018).
Wilkov is the most decorated diver in program history, earning six career All-America honors including one so far at this year's championship. Last night, she placed second nationally in the 1-meter dive, the highest finish by a Spartan swimmer or diver in 18 years. Earlier in her career, Wilkov placed sixth nationally in the 3-meter dive and seventh in the 1-meter dive in 2024, seventh in the 1-meter dive and 10th in the 3-meter dive in 2023, and seventh in the 3-meter dive in 2022. The 2025 3-meter diving championship will be contested on Saturday.
This season, Wilkov became the first Spartan diver to win an NCAA Regional Meet, placing first in the 1-meter championship in February. She also won the first University Athletic Association diving championship for the CWRU women's swimming team, claiming the 1-meter title earlier this season. Wilkov is a two-time All-UAA honoree and holds the school record on both boards with scores of 509.25 (1-meter) and 552.70 (3-meter).
Academically, Wilkov received CSC Academic All-America First Team honors in 2024 and Scholar All-America First Team honors from the CSCAA in 2022, 2023, and 2024.
For more information on the Elite 90 award winners, log on to https://www.ncaa.com/elite-90
